‘How Do I Stop Feeling Like a Failure?’

Make space for this longing.

Flowers in a Vase (1866) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Dear Polly,

Thank you for your column. I read everything you write. The basic message is simple: to embrace it all, that the damage and the shame will always be there and that one can live well despite it, and that I’m a more than okay person, that self-compassion is key.  

After reading a column or comple…